Improvement in knitting-machines



PATENT CEEICE.

SYLVESTER H. ROPER, OF ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTlNG-WlACHINES, &c.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,931, dated August 8, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SYLvEsTEn H. ROPER, of Roxbury, in the county of Suffolk and State of lvlassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Kuitting-ll/lachines and in the seam for uniting knitted goods; and I do hereby declare that the followin g, taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies and forms part of this specification, is a description of my invention, suiiicient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

My improvements consist in a novel construction of the sinker-eam, whereby one or more of the sinkers in advance ofthe thread-carrier shall be depressed before the needles shall have moved outward, thus serving to hold the fabric or web against the thrust of the needles and to insure the passage of the latch of the needle through the loop, such sinker being then raised by the cam far enough to permit the thread-guide to pass without obstruction, but yet so that while it shall not release the web it shall allow the lastforlned loop to pass under it and be drawn through the loop previously formed; in the employment of an antomatically-travelii1g and rocking-bar, for bringing reserve needles into action for the purpose of widening 5 in providing the patternwheel with a ratchet and pawls to control the traverse of the rocking-bar; in the combination of the pattern-wheel with the shiftin g mechanism,- whereby the machine sha-ll be autol'natically stopped when the widening is done; in other details hereinafter mentioned; and also in an improved seam for uniting together the edges of machine-knitted fabrics. My machine is intended mainly for knitting the sleeves or legs of garments, gores for un dershirts,.and other articles or parts of articles which need to be made wider at one part than at another, but it is also adapted to making fabrics of yuniform width, whenever desired. ln making widened goods it commences at the narrower part-as, for instance, at the wrist in knitting a sleeve-and automatically widens until it has knitted the broader part, namely, the shoulders, and then it automatically stops until enough needles at either or both sides, as the case may require, are moved by the attendant beyond the action of the cam which actua-tes them, when the machine is again set in motion to repeat the operation, thus making a continulous web of many sleeves, Snc.

Figure 1 is a top view of my machine, the tension apparatus not being' shown. Fig. 2 is a front view, the upright which supports the tension apparatus and the stop-rod being cut away. Fig. 3 is a cross-section in line m w of Figs. l and 2,- with the tension apparatus and stop-rod in place. Fig. 4 is a rear detached view of one of the pattern-wheels and traversing-bar and its appendages, and of the means for causing the shifting of the driving-wheels when the widening is completed, the bar and its linger bein g shown in theposition assumed by them when they have just brought a reserve needle into action. Fig. 5 is a cross-section at the line y y of Fig. 1, showing the rack which gives to the widening-bar its rocking motion to bring the reserve needles into action at the proper periods. Figs. G and 7 represent, of full size, a needle and its stock, and a sinker. The other figures are of half size, eX- cepting 8, 9, and 10, which are magnified views of the ends of the needle-groove, and Fig. 11, which is a magnified view of my novel seam.

Upon a proper supporting-frame, A, is secured the bed-plates B, a space, c, between the frame and the plates receiving and permitting the reeiproeation of the latch-needles, whose stocks run in grooves made both in the top of the frame and in the under face of the plates B B, longitudinal ways in B B being also made to permit the reeiproeation of the traversing-plate D, which receives its motion directly from the connectingrod E, which is firmly secured to the endless belt or chain F which passes over the pulleys G G', both of the latter being supported on the hanger H projecting' from the frame A, the'belt being driven, by means of the pulley I on shaft J, from a steam-engine or other source of power.

I will now describe my novel construction of sinker-cam and its operation: One of the prin.

cipal embarrassments in knitting a close fabric in machines in which the latch-needle is used arises from the difficulty (hitherto almost insurmountable) in resisting the thrust of the needlethat is, the tendency of the needle to carry the loop forward with it instead of merely passing through it for the proper distance, and as the failure of the latch to pass completely through the loop prevents the formation of the stitch, every such failure must make imperfect goods, and this becomes a serious evil when it is attempted to widen the web by bringing new needles force, and they are consequently pushed forward into action, because the new stitches formed on these outer needles are not sensibly acted upon by theweight which pull s down the web of knitted fabric, inasmuch as such stitches are outside of the vertical line in which the weight exerts its with the needles, and the needles thus become loaded and the selvage broken. As a remedy for this the sinker-actuating cam is made in the form shown in Fig. 2, having besides the main cam-curve 13 two ot-her curves or swells, 14 14, one on either side of and equally distant from the central curve 13.

The operation of this cam upon the sinkers is as follows: A few of the sinkers (as at 16') are brought down by the portion 14 of the cam before the needles are thrown forward, thus forming a firm wall through which the needles may pass, but which positively resists and prevents the passage of those loops which are upon the needles; this makes it certain that the latch shall, as the needle advances, pass without fail through its last-made loop, and as a consequence insures the formation of the stitch on the retirement of the needle to its place. Now,to prevent the needle upon its next forward or advance movement passing again through this stitch and destroying it, it must be drawn down over the end of the needle as it is discharged therefrom, so as to be beneath the line or plane of the forward path of the same needle wh en advancing' to make the next stitch. This requires but little force in my machine, because the advanced depressed sinkers so effectually resist the thrust and relieve from the drag or pull of the loop upon the needle that I find it even possible without using any weight at all to knit successfully, though, of course, some weight should be used to prevent the stitches piling up upon the needles.

The result of this action ofthe sinkers is as follows: First, on the web of uniform width a much lighter weight than usual may be used, thus lesseningI the strain on the yarn and needles, and there is a positive certainty of a perfect selva ge. Secon d, it insures a perfect fabric with a poorer quality of yarn. Third, it enables the opera-tor to produce a web of increasing width with the same certainty that can be attained in making goods of uniform width. Other advantages also flow from this improvement, but of less importance than those specified.

The motion produced by this sinker-cam to effect these results may be described as follows: Each sinker is depressed so that its tip 20 (see Fig. 7) shall be below the line of its attendant needle before such needle is moved forward. After this the needle is thrust forward andthe sinker is slightly raised, as seen at 19, to allow the thread-cinrier S to pass without obstruction from the sinkers. The sinker is then again depressed to draw down yarn enough to forln the loop, as seen at 15; itthen remains stationary lon genough to prevent one sinker from robbin g another sinker of its yarn, as,forinstance designating any three of these sinkers as one, two, and three, respectively-when one and two have formed tl ieirloops,

and number one has risen before number three has formed its loop, then, instead of drawing its yarn from the spool, number three would draw from the loop number one and destroy it. But this can never occur if a sufficient number of sinkers be held stationary, as in my machine. The sinker now rises high enough to allow the loop to pass under it, as at 21, namely, to the same height as at 19, to allow the thread-guide to pass; it then makes a false downward movement, as seen at 16, and then rises to its full height. This false or idle motion, when moving in one direction, becomes the real and effective one upon the reversal of the motion to make the next return course, and thus prevents any necessity for reversing the ealn.

A strained wire, a, is stretched across a part or all of the front of the frame, as seen in Fig. 2, and which performs an important duty at the sel vage, as follows There is always at the edge of theknitted fabric a tendency to curl up, and if' this be not checked or prevented the sinkers, in descending at or near such edge, would be apt to bear down upon such curled edge of the goods and out or otherwise injure or damage them. In a machine for making widened goods this wire should extend far enough to reach a distance sufficient to perform the above duty in making the narrowest portion of the goods, and it is therefore convenient to stretch a single wire across the whole front; but it would answer the same purpose to have it extend from either' side toward the middle for the requisite distance. 1n a machine for makin g goods of uniform width it need extend only a short distance inward from the selva-ge. The guards I) (see Fig. 2) are for the purpose of bearing off the yarn leading from the edge of the web to the eye of the yarn-guide when the latter is at the extreme of its traverse, so as to prevent the yarn being' drawn in such a line or direction as to risk its getting' behind the sinkers, which are outside of the needle on which the last stitch was made. A hanging-rod, 30, for effecting the stopmotion, is suspended from the tension-lever 22, its lower end being steadied in position by a guidesocket or tube, 31, on a projection fastened to the rack 9. A slide-bar, 32, stationary except when actuated by rod 30, is provided with a series of equally-distant depressions, 33, adapted to receive the end of rod 3() whenever a break in the yarn suffers it to be forced down by the coiled spring 23, the tension of the yarn being at other times sufficient to keep it suspended. Two i11- clines, 34, cut in the edge of bar 32, serve, whenever the bar is shifted in either direction, to act-- nate the clutch-lever 35, centered at 36, and to force inward its lower arm, thereby shifting on its shaft its dri vin g-pulley I and releasing it from the clutch 37 38.- The clutch 37 is rigidly affixed to and revolves with the drivin g-shaft, and drives the machine when its two arms come in contact with the projections 3S 38 on the drivin g-wheel.

The action is as follows: Whenever upon the breaking of the yarn the spring 23 depresses the rod 30, the latter is thereby caused. to engage with the sliding bar 32, which then actuates the shifting-clutch, as above stated. This stop-motion is of great importance, for even if the thread should break within a few inches of the web no stitches will be dropped, nor any imperfect work made requiring' to be taken out or mended up, because the stoppage takes place almost instantaneously after the break. To lose a stitch by a break of the thread, the break must be near to the eye of the thread-carrier. The stop-motion will also act automatically whenever the yarn is fed without sufficient tension upon it to insure the proper working of the take-up. Instead of the bar 32, an endless chain or belt, or other equivalent device serving to communicate motion from the rod 30 to the driving mechanism, may be employed.

The mechanism for bringing reserve needles into action for widening', is as follows: A traveling-bar, 39, is placed at each end of the frame, (one only being illustrated in the drawing,) each bar having a series of equally-distant teeth, 40,

on its upper side, and being so supported in proper bearmgs that 1t may be moved endwise, and also' that it may be rocked on its axis in order to cause its iinger, 4l, to force into action one by one, as wanted, the reserved needles. The needles are marked 42. When the bar 39 and finger 4l have been set so as to be ready to bring into use the reserve needles 43, or a portion of them, (as may be determined bythe pattern mechanism hereinafter described,) the machine is put in motion and the traversing-plate D, by means of its advancing end d or d', as the case may be, lifts the arm 44 of the rock-shaft 45, to which are attached two or more pawls, 46, for moving outward the rack-bar 39; these pawls being preferably such th at each shall slide the bar only a portion of the distance from needle to needle, so that two or more actions of slide D on either side of the machine are necessary to bring into action one needlenpon that side. The needle so brought into actionisalways" that one of the regular series of needles next adjacent to the one which formed the outer selvage stitch of the last preceding course.

` s It is sometimes necessary to widen variably, say, at times, at every fourth, at others at every sixth, and at others at every eighth course. To effect this automatically, I construct and apply to each end of the machine a pattern-wheel or disk, 47, having teeth to be acted upon by a pawlY hereinafter described, and having, also, portions of its periphery concentric with but of greater diameter than the toothed portion, as seen at 49 50. The slowness or rapidity with which these several pawls will feed the rack, will be dependent upon the positions and height of these raised portions 49 50, as the Wheel is revolved, a crank, 5l, on the pawl-shaft being held up by them in its downward motion, thus restricting accordingly the range of motion and the consequent feeding-action of the pawls. Some ofthe raised parts are made high enough to lift the pawls entirely out of action, so that the widening-rack shall not move, and in such case goods of even width or straight web will be made. The number, length, or height of these raised portions of the wheel may be made such as may be required for any special work. rlhe number of courses in the garment is determined by the number of teeth in the ratchet-wheel.

The rocking motion of the bar 39 is effected as follows: To the under side of plate D, and at each end of it, is secured a slotted plate, 51, the mouth of the slots being somewhat widened to facilitate the entrance of the pin or roller 52 connected with the rack 53. This rack gears with a segmental pinion, 54, through which the rod 39 slides, the two being splined or keyed together so that, when the pinion is partially rotated by the rack, it shall rock the rod and bring the finger 4l into action. The return of the slide-plate D causes a positive return of the rack 53 to its original position, as the slot in plate 5l acts positively upon it in both directions, and the spring 5lX bearing down upon the gear 54 serves to hold it in this position until again rocked.

The toothed wheel is actuated by a pawl, 55, on the crank 56, the latter being operated bythe same means as, and in a similar manner with, the pawls heretofore named, the edge d serving to lift the arm 57 in the same way that it lifts the arm 44, but at an earlier period of time, so as to move wheel iirst and shift the rod next, the rocking of the rod being its next movement. Springs 58 59, acting upon pins on the arms 57 and 44, serve to bear them down and restore them back to their normal positions.

The mechanism for stopping the machine when the widening is completed is as follows: Upon the outer face of the pattern-wheel is a cam-piece or incline, 60, on an arm pivoted at 6,1,and stayed between two stops 62 63, to permit a slight play for a purpose hereinafter stated. An arm, 64, rigidly aflixed to a sliding rod, 65, has its upper end, when in its normal position, in immediate proximity to the outer face ofthe pattern-wheel, so that when the wheel shall have made nearly its complete revolution and one widened garment has been nearly completed the cam-piece 60 will pass between the end of arm 64 and the wheel, and, by its outward pressure upon the arm, force outward the rod 65, which carries with it the yoke-piece 66 o n its other end, which yoke fits in a groove on the hub of the driving-wheel I, and thus the wheel is shifted away from the clutch 37. The object of the slight play of the cam-piece 60 is, that after the machine has been stopped, if

it shall not have left such piece entirely clear of the arm 64, it may be lifted so as not to interfere with the adjustment of the arm and its rod to the proper position for starting. My improvement in the form of the groove in which the needle reciprocates is shown in Fig. S. I do not give this form to that part of the groove in which the jack or stock of the needle moves, but only to that part into which the yarn is drawn back. Instead of making the vertical sides or walls of this part parallel, as customary, I cut away both walls from a little below the top down to the bottom, as seen, so as to enlarge, as far as practicable, the space on each side of the hook and shank of the needle.

The reasons for and advantages due to this construction are as follows: First, that when a loop is discharged over another there may be plenty of space for the four thicknesses of yarn (two thicknesses on each side of the needle) in addition to the thickness of the needle itself. Vithout this enlargement of the bottom of the needle-groove as large a yarn could not be employed in the same machine as can be with it. Secondly, the whole web, as knitted, is more nearly of the breadth of the row of needles employed, and fills the gauge, and has not the tendency to the degree it would otherwise have of contracting its breadth and pulling inward from each selvage toward the center of the fabric. Thirdly, the goods made are also more full and perfeet, because not subjected while being fabricated to the same action and treatment 5 for when the yarn is by the` old form of groove compressed and iattened at each stitch in its passage in and out of the same it loses its desirable light and Heeey character, and is reduced in compass, the effect of which is that in the completed fabric the open spaces between the yarns and stitches are enlarged just to the degree that the ya-rn is compressed or strained, and the appearance of the fabric is proportionately marred; besides which the compression ofthe yarn gives it a stiff wiry condition, which destroys the fullness and roundness of each loop or stitch, and which,` in the fabric, is quite perceptible to the eye, inasmuch as each row appears as if it had been mechanically flattened.

My improved form of groove also prevents the straining, stitching, and breaking of the yarn while passing in or out of the groove. The upper part of the groove is left narrow in order to leave the neck a: between two grooves wider at its top, and which thus may retain and prevent the yarn which passes from one needle to another from riding up and over such neck, as it would do if the sides of such neck were parallel, as they are between the old form of parallel-sided grooves. The conditions under which the yarn has been found so to rise and ride up over the neck and load up upon the needles are where the weight used is too light, or where the yarn is thicker or uneven by reason of defective spinning.

Owing to the reduction of friction, and the keeping of the yarn freer by reason of my improved form of groove the amount of weight required is very materially reduced, the fabric, and especially its selvage, being thereby made more perfectly. Another very important economical advantage due to my improved fbrm of groove is that a single yarn of large enough size to iill the gauge may be employed instead of a doubled ine yarn usually employed for that purpose; the cost of fine-spun yarn being much greater than that of coarser g vlades and double the length being required.

In Figs. 9 and l() I have shown modified forms of my improvement in the groove having the same general characteristics. I prefer the form shown in Fig. 8, but the enlarged portion may be of oval, angular, oblong, or any other desired shape, the principle being the same.

I will now describe the novel seam made by unitingtogethertwo selvages ofthe goods knitted ing, at last, an unsatisfactory seam.

on the above-described machine, first contrasting such selvages with those made on machines heretofore used for widening. It has been a well-known practice to use at both sides of the machine a sluiting set of three, four, or more needles, technically styled selvage-needles, the same selvage-needles always working to make the selvage, and the widening of the fabric being effected by bringing into action, as occasion may require, other needles which, as Wanted, are introduced between the inner one of the set of `selvage-needles and the outer one of the series of needles whichknits themain' body of the fabric. The effect of such a mode of operation is that a series of gaps or openings is unavoidably left in the goods between the selvage made by the selvage-needles and the other portion of the fabric. These openings must, therefore, either be left to mar the fabric, or they must be closed by handwerk, or'by some subsequent mechanical operation, at much expense and loss of time, and leav- In Widening, as 011 my machine, it will be seen that no such defects are left in the fabric, but that the whole web is homogeneous and of precisely similar fabrication from edge to edge, however much it may be widened, and that the yarn which passes over from one course to the outer widening-needles of the next course lies always at the extreme outer edge, leaving no gap or opening, or possibility of it, anywhere in the body of the goods, arising from the Widening process. (See Fig. ll.) The consequence is that no subsequent operations to cure defects from this cause are ever required. But this mode of widening is productive of another most valuable result, namely, an entirely new seam when two edges of my fabric are united together by ma chinery or otherwise, the seam being also closer; and it is also stronger than when selvages made with selvage-needles are united together, for the reason that, when such selvage-needles are employed, the selvage, as is wel] known, is necessarily of looser texture than the body of the goods, because ofthe continuous series of openings between it and such body, and also because the selvage-needles are always made lz'lrger and stronger than those used for makin the web.

NVhen my selvages are united together, the i yarn, at the edge which passes from one course to the outer needle of the next widening course, becomes surrounded by and inelosed within the stitches which serve to unite the edges and aids to fill them and make the entire seam compact, uniform, and close,. but without in the least lessening its elasticity. (See Fig. ll.) I also insure, in fact, a closer seam at the widened part than can be made at a regular unwidened selvage., for the reason that the yarn employed to unite the edges of the widened part, in passing from each. regular stitch in orderon one selva-ge to each regular stitch in order 011 the other sclvage, not only envelopes and embraces within it the yarn oi" the long" loop at its edge7 but also pulls the threads of a portion of the regular stitchloops of each selvage into the comparatively `loose space occupied by the loose thread on the nl i \ of one selvage to all those of the other selvage,

and, at the same time, inclose within it the looser threads which connect one row of stitches with a wider one.

I claiml. The sinker-cam, formed substantially as shown and described, and operating, when in action, to depress the sinkers previous to the outward movement of the needles acting in conjunction with them, as set forth.

2. As a means for bringing into action reserve needles, an automatically-traveling and rockingbar.

3. A pattern-wheel, constructed substantially as shown and described, to control and vary the widening mechanism.

4. The combination of a pattern-wheel with the pivoted cam-piece 60 and the described shifting mechanism, for automatically stopping the machine.

5. The novel seam at the widened parts of the fabric, hereinabove described.

6. A needle-bed, formed with grooves, enlarged laterally at their forward ends, as described, so as to leave the necks between such grooves wider above than at such enlarged part, for the purpose set forth.

SYLVESTER H. ROPER.

Witnesses:

JOHN J. HALsTED, W. BRADFORD. 

